Слике страница
PDF
ePub

tion, both in the food drives and in the educational and executive work of the administration; interpreting to the women of the country the policy of the Govern

GROSVENOR B. CLARKSON (Underwood and Underwood)

ment regarding the maintenance of standards for women in employment and advising departments in Washington as to housing conditions of employes; placing at the disposal of the Children's Bureau the entire machinery to execute the program for children's year; conducting the weighing and measuring tests, the education and recreation drives; placing the machinery of the committee at the command of various organizations such as the Red Cross and Y. M. C. A., for relief work, to raise funds and gather supplies; providing hospital facilities and conducting the Student Nurse Reserve drive; securing Government workers at the request of the Civil Service Commission, and rendering assistance to the Commercial Economy Board, the Shipping Board, the Liberty Loan Commit

tee, the Thrift Savings Committee, the Advocate General's office, and many other agencies of the Government.

In the Fall of 1918 there was effected an amalgamation of the State Councils Section and that part of the machinery of the Woman's Committee which concerned itself with work in the States, under the name of the Field Division of the Council of National Defense. Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, was made Chairman of the new division, and Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, Vice Chairman. The various State Councils and State divisions of the Woman's Committee were advised of the creation of the Field Division and urged to bring about a similiar amalgamation in the States. To each State was left the details of making such adjustment as would enable men and women to work together and permit both men and women to vote in executive control. The Woman's Committee remained as advisory committee to the council.

While the new Field Division was still working out its destiny, the armistice was signed. As most of the State Councils had been created for the period of the war, and as many of the divisions of the Woman's Committee, were dependent upon the State Councils for financial support, there ensued a period of waiting to ascertain what the status of the two State organizations might be during the reconstruction period.

MR. CLARKSON AS DIRECTOR In the meantime, the directorship of the Council of National Defense had passed from Mr. Gifford to Grosvenor B. Clarkson. Mr. Clarkson had been Secretary of the council and of the Advisory Commission throughout the war, and also Director of the Field Division. Since the council was not in the first instance merely a war emergency, but a permanent body, it naturally passed to such reconstruction tasks as seemed imminent. Under the authority of the President, Director Clarkson, as early as June, 1918, organized a small staff to survey, classify, and digest the reconstruction activities of this and foreign countries, making reports thereon to the President and the executive departments. Later the

[graphic]

staff grew into the Reconstruction Research Division, the prime purpose of which is to get the many readjustment problems logically stated and analyzed as a basis for the work of any reconstruction commission that Congress or the President may create.

The Council of National Defense continues as a post-war and permanent agency. Aside from its broad functions under the act which created it, it is urging the establishment of nonpartisan community councils as the final residuum of the wartime co-operative endeavor in order, in the words of Director Clarkson, "to draw permanent dividends in the national interest of the superb unity born of the war."

With the intention of further decentralizing these community councils the council has recommended that, at the current sessions of the State Legislatures,

U

legislation be enacted providing for the development of community councils and for permanent State leadership of all organized communities.

In this business of welding the nation, the United States Council of National Defense continues, not, however, confining itself to the duty of directing or stimulating the organization of community councils. Though it continues to convey to these community councils such information and requests as the various Federal departments may desire, information and requests having to do now, not with defense, but with the new demands and problems of readjustment, it also studies those problems and investigates those related needs, thus fulfilling the purpose that gave it birth, that of making the resources of the nation in time of need available for the national security and welfare.

Canada's Share in the War

By OWEN E. McGILLICUDDY

P to the outbreak of war in August, 1914, the Dominion of Canada was probably interested to a smaller extent in military affairs than any other allied nation. At that time the Dominion had a permanent military force of barely 3,000 men, yet during the next four years and a half 595,441 men were enlisted, and of this number 59,545, (including presumed dead and missing) paid with their lives the price of a world's freedom.

Until the Parliament of 1917 assembled Canada had raised her forces by voluntary enlistment, and 465,984 men were raised by this means. After the Military Service act came into force in 1918, 83,355 draftees (and volunteers) were taken into training, and this, with the 24,933 men who had been granted leave or discharged and 21,169 who were enlisted in the Royal Air Force, made up the total man power contribution of 595,441. In addition, during the early stages of the war, 14,590 reservists from Great Britain and other allied countries

left Canada to rejoin the colors of their respective countries.

CANADIAN BATTLE HISTORY

But apart from the hard, cold figures, it has been on the battlefield where Canada has won deathless glory and has achieved a name which time will never fade. The first engagement in which the Canadians took part was that of the Ypres salient, which lasted from April 22 to April 27, 1915, and where, against vastly superior numbers, and in bad ground, with little else beyond grit and tenacity they held back the German armies in their rush to Calais and other French coast points.

In the following May, on the 18th and 19th, the sanguinary battle of Festubert took place, and once more the Canadian Army Corps showed their metal and were commended by General Alderson. At Givenchy the fighting lasted a week, June 15-22, and in attack and counterattack they once more stemmed the German rushes.

was

After that the Canadian Corps did not figure in any marked engagements, apart from the routine trench warfare, until the Battle of St. Eloi, April 3-12, 1916, where many casualties were suffered. Sanctuary Wood, which fought from June 2 to 4, was the next engagement, and this was followed in quick succession by the Battle of Hooge, which lasted from June 5 to 8. In the early Fall, starting on September 15 and lasting until Oct. 3, terrific fighting occurred around Courcelette, which resulted in some of the heaviest casualties suffered up to that period of the war. The Battle of Mouquet Farm occurred during the same time, but did not last as long, the fighting only taking place on September 16 and 17.

Some of the bloodiest fighting of the war, so far as trench warfare was concerned, took place in the Regina and Kenora trenches from Oct. 2 to 8, and in Desire Trench from Nov. 17 to 18. But it was from April 6 to 9, in 1917, that the troops from the Dominion won the battle which indicated that the Allies were developing unsuspected strength, and that Canadian reinforcements were proving of incalculable aid in frustrating the plans of the German high command, for it was on that date that the much-coveted Vimy Ridge was taken and ample demonstration given that with anywhere nearly equal forces in guns and men the Canadian Corps were invincible.

Arlieux and Fresnoy followed shortly after, from April 28 to 30, but were made up mostly of counterattacks, in which both the enemy and the Canadians suffered heavily. The engagement around Lens, which began on June 11, resulted in heavy casualties through the machinegun fire which was brought to bear on the Canadians while they were attacking. At Hill 70 the fighting was intense during Aug. 15, but the casualties were much heavier during the Passchendaele fighting from Oct. 25 to Nov. 10. At Passchendaele the Canadians had to attempt to make an advance over ground that was very boggy, and the progress for men, beasts, and machinery proved very difficult. The result was, owing to the advantageous position possessed by

the enemy, many casualties and much loss in munitions and equipment.

THE VICTORY CAMPAIGN Outside of routine work the Canadians took things easily until the big German advance toward Amiens began on March 23, 1918, lasting until the 31st. During this engagement the motor machine guns and cavalry brigades performed valiant service in checking the enemy. At the second batttle of Amiens, which was the beginning of the allied advance, and lasted from Aug. 9 to 16, the Canadians drove wedges into the enemy's lines which forced him to commence a retreat. This was followed up by the battle of Arras, fought on Aug. 26 to 28, where the casualties inflicted by the Canadians threw the enemy into confusion and hurried his retreat in great disorder. From Sept. 3 to 5 the Canadians broke the famous Quéant-Drocourt line, sometimes called the Hindenburg line, and then an astonished world began to realize that the day of German military supremacy had passed, never to return.

The fighting around Bourlon Wood was made up of many machine-gun engagements and the losses were terrific. At Cambrai, however, from Oct. 1 to 9, the fighting is reported to have been even more bloody, for it was here that the German Army was making a last determined stand before commencing the retreat which took it out of France.

A sharp engagement took place at Denain on Oct. 20, and the Canadians also assisted in the encircling movement around Valenciennes, which lasted from Oct. 25 to Nov. 2. The crowning achievement was the last engagement which took place at Mons on Nov. 10, where, in the early morning, before the signing of the terms of armistice, the Canadians took the town in a splendid charge with fixed bayonets.

TOTAL CASUALTIES

Such, in short, is the battle history of the Canadians in the great war. The total casualties sustained by the Canadian Expeditionary Force as reported up to Jan. 15, 1919, were 218,433, made up as follows: Killed in action, 35,684; died of wounds, 12,437; died of disease, 4,087;

wounded, 155,839; prisoners of war, 3,049; presumed dead, 4,682; missing, 398, and died in Canada, 2,287.

From these figures it is apparent that the total deaths, including men presumed dead and missing, are 59,545. By periods the casualties, in round figures, were as follows: Before Dec. 31, 1915, 14,500; during 1916, 56,500; during 1917, 74,500, and during 1918, 73,000.

The number of men of the Canadian Expeditionary Force who had gone overseas on Nov. 15, 1918, was 418,052. The movement of troops Overseas which brought about this total is shown by the annual figures to be as follows: Before Dec. 31, 1914, 30,999; during 1915, 84,334; during 1916, 165,553; during 1917, 63,536, and from Jan. 1 to Nov. 15, 1918, 73,630. On Sept. 30, 1918, there were approximately 160,000 effectives on the Continent and about 116,000 in reserve in England.

Probably the tale of Canada's valor on the western front is more strikingly recorded in the unofficial list of the military honors which had been granted to members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force up to Dec. 20, 1918. At that time 63 Canadians had won the Victoria Cross, 513 had won the Distinguished Service Order, 41 had won the first bar to the D. S. O., and 6 had won a second bar to the D. S. O. For the other commissioned officers' medal, the Military Cross, 1,882 Canadians were invested with this decoration, of which 99 reIceived first bar to the cross. ranks the showing was even greater; 1,186 were granted the Distinguished Conduct Medal, of which 6 were given first bar to the D. C. M.; 6,697 won the Military Medal, of whom 271 won the first bar and 10 won the second bar; 430 received the Meritorious Service Medal, 3,333 were mentioned in dispatches, 192 won the Royal Red Cross, while 226 received other British honors.

In the

The recognition of Canadian valor is also shown in the decorations conferred by other allied countries. The foreign decorations include 410 French, 7 Belgian, 7 Serbian, 28 Italian, 8 Montenegrin, and 159 Russian.

At the outbreak of the war in 1914 the Canadian Government possessed only

two naval vessels, the Niobe, stationed at Halifax, and the Rainbow, stationed at Esquimalt. The Rainbow, which was ready for sea, patrolled, with other ships from the Pacific station, as far south as Panama, and captured several ships carrying contrabrand of war. After the entry of the United States into the war she became depot ship on the Pacific Coast. The Niobe was ready for sea in September, 1914, and remained in commission one year, during which she steamed over 30,000 miles on patrol duty. She afterward became depot ship at Halifax.

At the beginning of hostilities various small craft were taken over by the Naval Department and were armed and manned by the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserves for the performance of patrol duties off the Atlantic coast. On the Pacific Coast two submarines which had been bought just before the declaration of war patrolled the approaches to Victoria and Vancouver Harbors, and were potential factors in the defense of these ports during the early stages of the war, when German ships were still on the high seas. Early in 1917 the Department of Naval Service undertook to have sixty trawlers and 100 drifters built in Canada for the Imperial Government. These vessels were built at various places on the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. Many of them were in service in Canadian and European waters during 1917, while all were in service by 1918. The area patrolled stretched from the Strait of Belle Isle to the Bay of Fundy, and from Quebec to east of the Virgin Rocks. It is noteworthy that in this area, where the Department of Naval Service had control of patrols, convoys, mine sweeping, the protection of fishing fleets, &c., only one large vessel was lost by enemy attack.

At the date of the armistice the personnel of the service comprised officers and men of the Royal Canadian Navy, 749; officers and men of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve, 4,374. In addition to the above over 1,700 men have been recruited in Canada for the Royal Navy and are on service abroad; 73 surgeon probationers and 580 proba

[blocks in formation]

Approximate total..$1,432,389,277 The figures for the 1918 loan are taken from the final announcement made by the National Committee in Toronto shortly after Jan. 1, 1919. This report pointed out that, taking the Dominion as a whole, one person in every 7.08 of the total population had subscribed to the loan, as compared with one in every 9.02 in 1917.

In addition to the loans, War Savings Certificates and debenture stock to a considerable amount have been issued. It is estimated that $192 per capita to the population of the Dominion has been lent to the Government.

IMPERIAL MUNITIONS BOARD From the outbreak of the war to November 30, 1918, Canada has established credits on behalf of the Imperial Government amounting to $709,000,000. Through these advances Great Britain has been able to finance her necessary purchases in Canada and to carry on the operations of the Imperial Munitions Board. In addition to this, Canadian chartered banks have advanced the sum of $200,000,000 to the Imperial Government in order to finance the purchase of munitions and wheat. This was made possible by the large savings deposits in Canadian banks, which at the conclusion of the war amounted to approximately $1,000,000,000, or over $400,000,000 in excess of the total as it stood in August, 1914.

Orders for munitions amounting to

upward of $1,200,000,000 were placed by the board in various localities throughout the Dominion up to the signing of the armistice. The bulk of this was spent on shells and their component parts, the shell expenditure totaling $937,456,826. In an announcement made by the Department of Public Information for the Imperial Munitions Board in the Fall of 1918 it was stated that over 65,000,000 shells, ranging in size from 13-pounders to 9.2 inches in calibre, had been purchased in Canada by the board since its inception in December, 1915. This made the entire outlay in Canada by the Imperial Government for shells alone almost a billion dollars.

"To this vast sum," the announcement continues," must be added the outlay on shells before the Imperial Munitions Board was organized, as well as the orders placed on behalf of the United States Government, the figures for which are not available at present." The following gives the quantities of the different sized shells produced in Canada for the imperial authorities: 18-pounder shrapnel (empty).. 18-pounder shrapnel (filled). 18-pounder high explosive.... 4.5-inch howitzer explosive.. 60-pounder howitzer explosive. 6-inch howitzer explosive.. 8-inch howitzer explosive.. 9.2-inch howitzer explosive. 15-pounder shrapnel 13-pounder shrapnel

[blocks in formation]

8,664,920 ..24,939,798

5,629,411

1,571,344

1,104,276

.10,519,219

753,517

782,355

299,258

79,550

.65,343,648

Previous to August, 1914, no Canadian manufacturer had ever made a shell, cartridge case, or fuse, yet in the second half of 1917 Canada was producing 55 per cent. of the shrapnel shells, 42 per cent. of the 4.5 shells, 27 per cent. of the six-inch, 15 per cent. of the eightinch, and 16 per cent. of the 9.2 shells used by the British armies. In addition to the expediture on shells the Imperial Munitions Board has spent nearly $300,000,000 in Canada on other materials and equipment for the British Government, including airplanes, ships, chemicals, &c. Included in this was the establishment and operation of a national plant at Toronto for the construction of airplanes, of which more than 2,500 were produced, the plant latterly producing

« ПретходнаНастави »